OTEGI MONDRAGON v. SPAIN JUDGMENT 5 governed by the rule of law. The exercise of the right to freedom of expression had therefore been contrary to the principle of proportionality and had been unnecessary, overstepping the limits beyond which criticism could be deemed to be hurtful or upsetting. The Supreme Court further observed that the context in which the remarks had been made did nothing to alter their offensiveness. Firstly, the proceedings relating to the complaints of ill-treatment of the persons detained in connection with the operation against the newspaper Euskaldunon Egunkaria had been discontinued for lack of evidence. Secondly, the impugned remarks could not be construed as a reaction or response to a political debate with the King. In view of the seriousness of the insulting comments and the fact that the applicant had deliberately expressed them in public, the Supreme Court sentenced him to one year’s imprisonment. 17. Judge P.A.I. issued a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the comments complained of had been of a political nature, in view of the applicant’s status as a member of parliament and the context in which they had been made, namely the King’s visit to the Basque Country and the attitude of the Head of the government of the Basque Country in that regard. The judge agreed with the Basque Country High Court of Justice that the remarks had not targeted the King’s private life or his personal honour but had been directed solely at his institutional role as Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish armed forces. The applicant had not claimed that the King was responsible for actual acts of torture, only that he was strictly liable as Head of the State apparatus. The judge pointed out that the limits of freedom of expression were wider with regard to institutions since the latter did not possess honour, an attribute that was confined to individuals. D. The amparo appeal to the Constitutional Court 18. The applicant lodged an amparo appeal with the Constitutional Court alleging, inter alia, a breach of his right to freedom of expression (Article 20 § 1 (a) of the Constitution) and of his right to freedom of ideas (Article 16 of the Constitution). 19. In the applicant’s view, the Supreme Court’s judgment had incorrectly weighed the competing interests at stake, as the comments complained of had not contained any insulting or vexatious expressions, had been directed principally against the President of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country rather than the King of Spain and, in any event, had reflected the reality of the situation and had not referred to the King’s private life or his attitudes. The statements in question had not been disproportionate in the context in which they had been uttered, namely the warm welcome extended to the King of Spain by the government of the Basque Country in the wake of the closure of the daily newspaper Euskaldunon Egunkaria and, in connection with that closure, the detention